Making a Living

How do I make a living? Well, I am currently an Associate Professor, Instructional Design for the College of Education and Health Services at Touro University, California. While I am not specifically paid to publish (it’s just part of being a faculty member), my work on both K-12 distance, online, and blended learning, as well as gaming in education and generational differences, is published fairly regularly. Like most academics, those items that are published in non-open source journals – who maintain the copyright on those articles (although I tend to ask for permission to post the item to my personal website – see http://www.michaelbarbour.com). I also make a habit of trying to publish in open source journals (at least as much as I am able, being an untenured, tenure-track faculty member in a tenure track position).

Beginning in the Summer 2011 semester, I have also begun an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Educational Technology at Boise State University – where I have designed and teach a course on blogging in education. Finally, like many university faculty I have established a small consulting business where I do work for a variety of K-12 distance, online, and blended learning programs in Canada, the United States and worldwide; along with other educational organizations (see below for the list).

So, you’re a blogger, huh?

Yes, I’m a blogger. I started my Virtual School Meanderings blog in early 2005 (largely due to the influence of Nathan Lowell) and haven’t looked back too much, except for the obligatory navel-gazing that characterizes bloggers. I don’t get paid for blogging, nor do I advertise on my blog – although I do post some vendor items that show up in my inbox when I believe that they would be of interest to the general K-12 online learning community (and this typically happens around the Virtual School Symposium – now iNACOL Symposium – when my inbox tends to get more of these items). I don’t believe in advertising on my blog or making money from what I write. What I write on my blog is strictly for fun, playing with ideas, as well as exploring various issues surrounding K-12 online learning.

I used to write for other blogs, and you can see which ones here. I do not receive payment for any of the blogs I write for (or have written for).

DISCLOSURES

Media ties: I have no media ties.

Stocks: I own no stocks.

Religion: I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about religion, but I was raised in the United Church of Canada – although these days I consider myself more of an agnostic.

Politics: Being a Canadian, and a left-leaning one at that, most of my views tend to be quite left of many of my American colleagues. While I was a card-carrying member and quite active in the Liberal Party of Canada during my youth and undergraduate years, I have found myself voting for almost all of the main political parties in the Canadian political sphere.

I am not a single issue voter, although single issues in the past have caused my indecision to be quickly solved. In most education issues, I tend to fall on the side of public education (e.g., I think Michael Apple makes a great deal of sense in most of his writing).

There are a lot of issues, but I’m not going to jump into those now. If you have a question, drop me an e-mail and maybe I’ll formulate an opinion.

A Few Questions

1. For what other employers (or consulting) have you worked in the last five years?

Beyond that, none that I’m aware of and, if I did, I’d be sure to point them out.

5. Although we don’t regulate the activities of spouses, partners or immediate family members of our contributors, do any of their professional or personal involvements or any of their financial investments or ties make certain topics inappropriate for you, and if so, what are the topics?

No, my wife is a nurse.

6. Have you accepted any free trips, junkets or press trips in the last two years? Have you accepted any substantial free merchandise or discounts from people we might cover?

I have accepted the following speaking engagements in the past where my expenses were covered and/or I was given a fee for speaking:

500 AP United State History Questions: 5 Steps to a 5 – gWhiz iPod/iPad app

Frog Dissection – Emantras app

Finally, I was provided additional pay features to the Mobl21 platform free-of-charge by Emantras for a limited period of time in 2010-11 to conduct a research study into the perceptions of virtual school students of the Mobl21 platform and mobile learning in general.

7. Has anything you’ve written later resulted in a published editor’s note or retraction for deliberate falsehood or plagiarism or become the subject of a lawsuit involving allegations of deliberate falsehood? (If yes, please include details about the publication and your role in the article or story. If a lawsuit, please describe the disposition of the case.)

No (or at least not that I have ever been aware of). If I make mistakes, I attempt to correct them on my blog.